Three separate federal cases denied any association between vaccines and autism, according to rulings on Feb 12, 2009.  I pray that these rulings reassure parents who limit vaccination of their children, since decreasing rates of vaccination have led to U.S. outbreaks and preventable deaths from measles and Haemophilus influenzae type b.

http://www.uscfc.uscourts.gov/node/5026

These were 3 test cases for 5,500 others against the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program claiming one of these means of causation:
-  measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine and thimerosal-containing vaccines can combine to cause autism;
- thimerosal-containing vaccines alone can cause autism; and
- MMR vaccine without thimerosal can cause autism.

The U.S. Court of Federal Claims Office of Special Masters ruled out the first and third theories since "the evidence was overwhelmingly contrary to the petitioners' contentions" on each issue, according to Special Master George Hastings.  "The expert witnesses presented by the respondent were far better qualified, far more experienced and far more persuasive than the petitioners' experts concerning most of the key points," he wrote.  Plaintiffs have 30 days to seek reviews: ftp://autism.uscfc.uscourts.gov/autism/vaccine/Background_on_the_autism_proceedings.pdf

The second theory will be addressed by the Special Masters this summer.

I'll be chatting about this on KGO810AM radio in the SF Bay area at 4:13pm today ( http://bayradio.com/kgo_archives/61700.mp3 will have the recording sometime after they upload it at 5pm (it's the archive of 4pm-5pm):

http://www.medhelp.org/medical-information/show/1516/Salmonella-enterocolitis

Since September 2008, 388 across 42 states have become sick with Salmonella typhimurium and 18% (around 70 folks) have had to go to the hospital.   The CDC has yet to track down the cause, and has pulled staff from other work to devote to looking for it.  You may remember the peppers from Mexico that caused the last outbreak.

Salmonella usually causes an illness with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever and cramping, within 8 to 72 hours of eating the contaminated food.  In most cases it goes away by itself, but if you're really sick for more than 2 days with more than 6 stools a day with high fever you may need to see your doctor, especially if the stools are bloody, you're dehydrated, or have abdominal pain.

The fortunate thing for you is that by good habits and wise eating you can avoid the risk of catching this illness.  Carefully wash hands and cooking utensils & use alcohol-based hand rubs frequently when preparing raw eggs, poultry or other meats.  Cook meats and eggs thoroughly.  Do not eat raw milk products (such as raw milk or raw cheeses).  Wash raw fruits and vegetables before consuming.  Keep raw foods in a separate part of your refrigerator.  Cook raw food from animal sources to a safe internal temperature: ground beef 160ºF (71ºC); chicken 170ºF (77ºC); turkey 180ºF (82ºC); pork 160ºF (71ºC). Don't leave cooked foods at room temperature for more than two hours (one hour if the room temperature is above 90ºF/32ºC).

Probiotics can be helpful if taken in the first 2 days of being sick.  Antibiotics are usually not needed and can make things worse.

Antidiarrheal medications
Medications to reduce diarrhea can help if there is no fever (temperature greater than 100.3ºF or 38ºC) and the stools are not bloody. These medications do not cure diarrhea, but decrease your frequency of bowel movements.

Loperamide (Imodium®) is available over the counter; the dose is two tablets (4 mg) initially, then 1 tablet (2 mg) after each unformed stool. No more than 16 mg is recommended per day.

Diphenoxylate (Lomotil®) requires a prescription; its benefit is similar to loperamide, although it can cause constipation since it's so strong.

Bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol®, Kaopectate®) is not as effective as loperamide. Bismuth subsalicylate can help patients with fever and bloody diarrhea. However, women who are pregnant should not take bismuth subsalicylate. The dose of bismuth subsalicylate is 30 mL or two tablets every 30 minutes for up to eight doses.


for more:
http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=gmail&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF-8&tab=wn&resnum=0&cd=1&ncl=1287622770&hl=en

http://www.livescience.com/health/081128-ap-oldest-person.html

The oldest person in the world has passed away, at 115, and she had few points of wisdom to share.  When asked she said her secret was "more education" although her own education finished with teaching school.  Instead, she taught us by her own example:

- she stayed active.  She was seen pushing others around in her wheelchair in her nursing home.

- she stayed with her family.  Until 100 years old, she lived with a son, and had family surrounding her, keeping her connected and loved

- she overcame tragedy.  Her husband, a farmer, died at a young age, and she kept loved ones around her to replace her loss

- she practiced moderation, echewing vices such as tobacco & wine.  If you do imbibe, as I do, practice moderation.

Here's to your health, and may you live to as ripe an old age!

For low risk individuals with a high CRP taking crestor (rosuvastatin calcium), "we reduced the risk of a heart attack by 54 percent, the risk of a stroke by 48 percent and the chance of needing bypass surgery or angioplasty by 46 percent" reported Paul Ridker of Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who led a new study released yesterday at the annual American Academy of Cardiology meeting. It involved 17,802 people with high CRP and low LDL cholesterol (below 130) in the U.S. and 25 other countries.

One-fourth were black or Hispanic, and 40 percent were women. Men were 50 or older; women, 60 or older. There was no past medical history of heart problems or diabetes.

They were randomly assigned to take a placebo (dummy pills) or Crestor, made by British-based AstraZeneca PLC.

The results were significant enough that the trial was halted early, only after 2 years because the evidence was strong enough to consider placing all participants on crestor.

If insurance companies decide to cover the expense, and it is adopted by those who qualify, it could cost many billions of dollars to cover the expense but possibly avert 30,000 heart attacks.

Before you run out to ask your physician for the CRP test, consider if you're willing to foot the cost of crestor or other statins yourself because at this time you'll be paying $1-$4 a pill, every day.  A cost that's pretty difficult to swallow in these economic times.

Crestor: http://www.medhelp.org/drugs/Crestor/show/3468

Lipitor: http://www.medhelp.org/drugs/Lipitor/show/3078

Thousands of articles on the research:
http://news.google.com/news?client=safari&rls=en-us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&resnum=1&ncl=1268542933